Time Turned Fragile
by The Girly Man
Summary: A collection of onechapter stories starring Hatsuharu and Isuzu Sohma... as kids! Aww.
1. The Stupid Cow

_.::Time Turned Fragile::._

_5.14.2007_

**1. The Stupid Cow**

Because of his mother's tendency to always, _always_ be extremely busy on the weekends, Hatsuharu Sohma spent the majority of his school breaks being babysat by his older cousin Shigure. Well, Hatsuharu wasn't the brightest crayon in the box… Third grade was tough for him. So tough, in fact, that his teacher always assigned him an extra packet of multiplication problems to do over the weekends. Sometimes Shigure would help him with his math, but mostly he would have to struggle by himself while Shigure watched Saturday morning cartoons.

One occasion, however, stood out in Haru's dumb little mind. It was that sunny Saturday morning in which Ayame had joyously come over to accompany Shigure, and Isuzu had come to Shigure's home for an unspecified reason. And though they were "family," Hatsuharu was shy and found himself embarrassed in their very presence.

"Oh look at little Hatsuharu, doing mathematics homework!" Ayame cried overdramatically at him once he noticed Hatsuharu getting frustrated with his work. Ayame and Shigure crossed the room to where he was sitting at the dining room table and peered over his shoulder.

Haru wanted to disappear. Or crawl under the table. Or both.

Shigure stifled a chuckle at the sight of the math paper. "Oh, Haru-chan! You're so dull!" he laughed, then proceeded to read Haru's answers aloud. "I didn't know 4 x 4 equaled _14!_"

"Does 2 x 2 equal _2?_" Ayame giggled, and Haru could feel his face turn red. His angry eyes flickered across the room to where Rin was lounging on the couch playing her GameBoy, seemingly not noticing his suffering.

"Haha, Ayame, look! 10 x 2 equals _12?"_

"That's grand! Oh, and 3 x 3 equals _3?"_

Haru's eyebrow twitched as his vision blurred but returned to the paper. They were implying he was stupid, obviously. Like adults always did. Like in that stupid, stupid story.

_The stupid cow…_

He could feel his fist tightening around the pencil and he was about to scream… about to snap and flail out at his cousins... before…

"Shut the hell up," he heard Rin command from her place in the living room. She sighed and turned her GameBoy off before she stood up and walked up to Shigure. "Stop teasing him. It's not his fault he doesn't know math," she snapped, and though the words could have been more effective, it was the tone of the little girl's voice that caused Shigure to back off.

"Come on, Haru-chan," she said to him, extending her hand in front of his. He looked up at her for a second before shaking his head slowly. "Come on, Haru," she repeated impatiently. "I'll help you."

Haru shrugged and stood up, taking her hand before grabbing his paper. She pulled him into the guest room, where his homework was completed and he found he actually _understood _it.

Maybe.

Maybe he could be more than just

The stupid cow.


	2. The Thief

_.::Time Turned Fragile::._

**2. The Thief**

It was a fact: Haru was naïve.

Haru was dense.

Christmas was coming. Hatsuharu didn't know that much about Christmas either… just that people gave each other gifts and there was a bunch of gross hugging and kissing and year-old egg nog. Oh yeah, and there was something about a baby and a manger.

A week or so before this so-called "Christmas," Rin had invited Haru to go shopping with her to pick out gifts for her parents. This wasn't such a rare occurrence… Haru had begun to tag around after Rin wherever she went.

The two walked down the snowy street hand in hand, and stopped inside a small, but still packed, gift shop. Rin left Haru alone for a second while she picked out gifts.

It's not a smart idea to leave Haru alone, even for a second.

Haru was nervous standing in that store by himself, trying to nonchalantly look things over. He looked around for Rin, wondering what he would do without her even for a few seconds. She was his best friend. His only friend, really, and it wouldn't be wrong to say that he had developed a sort of "crush" on the older girl. His brain came to the logic that if Christmas was a time for giving people presents, he should probably get one for Rin.

Right?

He looked around for a second before his eyes set on a small teddy bear. It was purple and said 'Hug Me' on its chest. Haru decided that Rin would like that bear because purple was her favorite color. He didn't want her to see it before Christmas though, so he put it in his pocket and awaited her return.

Rin returned shortly after, smiling brightly at him because she had manged to get both of her parent's presents and still had money to buy some candy from the sweet store down the street for her and Hatsuharu to share. She took Hatsuharu's hand again and led him down the sidewalks.

But the pocket of Hatsuharu's jeans had a hole in it.

Before they entered the candy store, Hatsuharu felt the teddy bear fall out of his pocket. He panicked, staring down at it. Rin noticed it hit the snowy pavement and her eyes fell on it also. Haru stayed silent, blushing.

"What's that?" she raised an eyebrow, picking it up. She blushed at it too.

"Dunno," Haru responded, scuffing his shoes against the ground.

"Where did you get it?" she asked, looking up at him.

"The store," he answered, unable to make eye contact in embarrassment.

"…wha…?" Rin made the connection that she had left him in the store by himself, and he had had no money. "Haru…did you take this without paying for it?"

"…Yes?" he answered, confused. Her eyes widened and, grabbing his hand, she began to run.

"Why did you do that??" She cried, dragging him along the ground. "Haru, stealing is bad!"

Hatsuharu couldn't get a word in.

"We have to hide you or the police will find you and send you to jail!" She yelled breathlessly, and Haru looked up in time to see they had arrived at her backyard. "Quick, go in the tree house!" she pointed to their regular hideout.

Quiet in shock, Haru scrambled up the wooden steps and got into the damp wooden house, Rin following behind. She held the bear in her hand, and Hatsuharu felt stupid for the millionth time for having a crush on her.

"I'll keep watch for the police," she decided, closing the door of the house and peering out the window. They were quiet for a few minutes… or was it hours?... before Haru cleared his throat, hoping to gain her attention but failing.

"Rin," he said quietly. She had asked him, hadn't she? She had asked him why he had "done that." She turned to look at him as he cowered shyly in the corner, and he swallowed hard. "I t-took it… for you. For… a-a C-Christmas present."

Rin tilted her head at him before she grinned. "Haru," she sighed, shaking her head before pulling him into a tight hug.


	3. The Prince

_.::Time Turned Fragile::._

**3. The Prince**

Both having no siblings, Isuzu and Hatsuharu depended on their imaginations for a lot of their entertainment, especially when they were with each other. Things like a swimming pool could be the Pacific Ocean. Rin's closet could be a prison cell. Haru's backyard could be home to a professional soccer tournament.

But both children agreed: The park was the best place to play pretend. The playground could be an obstacle course… the swing set an airplane. The possibilities were endless.

That day they had decided their beloved park was a castle. Hatsuharu was now Prince Haru, and Isuzu Princess Rin. The castle, however, was infested with terrible monsters and dangerous cliffs and mountains…and Princess Rin was lost!

"Prince Haru, help! Help!" the Princess yelled. She was being attacked by a horrible creature: the swing set!

"Gahh!" Prince Haru yelled, unsheathing his sword and freeing Rin from its clutches without hesitation.

"Thank you, Prince!" she laughed, dusting off her eloquent dress. "Let's go back to the castle and celebrate!"

The castle was the monkey bars, and they walked back to it, laughing. Once at the red contraption, Hatsuharu climbed up the bars effortlessly.

But Rin was hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Haru asked her. He was sitting on the top bar and she was still on the ground.

"Haru…can the castle be something else?" she asked, eyeing the ladder nervously. "Like… the slide?"

"…Why?" Haru asked, taking a break from the pretending for a second because she was.

"…because… I… I don't feel like going on the monkey bars," she lied. Watching Hatsuharu sitting up there alone made her that more nervous.

"Are you scared?" he asked bluntly.

She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Don't be silly," she stifled a laugh. She placed her foot on the bottom step… grabbed hold of a higher bar with both her hands. Struggling, she pulled herself up... was it one step, or was she half way?... before she looked down at the ground and then back at Hatsuharu. "I… I can't do it," she told him with tears in her eyes, and was about to come down before she saw Haru's hand in front of her.

"Quick, Princess. Take my hand and I'll pull you up."

"_Take my hand, Princess Isuzu!" Prince Hatsuharu yelled over the roaring flames under the princess's feet. "I'll pull you up. Up here you will be safe!"_

Shaking, Rin grabbed his blistered hand. For a kid he was strong, and she felt safe in his grasp. Haru was determined for his friend to reach the top. He couldn't do much for her… he could at least help her accomplish this task.

She sighed as she reached the top and sat on the bars next to Haru, her eyes refusing to look at the ground. "You saved me, Prince," she smiled tiredly at him before she kissed his cheek. Shocked, Haru blushed heavily as the stars began to paint the evening sky.


	4. the persin that meens most too me

_.::Time Turned Fragile::._

**4. the persin that meens most too me**

**the persin that meens most too me is my best friend Rin she is the gratest person i no. She is nise too me and she is prety she allwas makes me laff. I love wen we pla in the park, most of all rin meens most too me becuz she dose not thnk im stupid or dum.**

_Wonderful, Hatsuharu! I can tell you really care about Rin. I enjoyed reading your paragraph. Will you let Rin read it?_

Haru thought of showing his prized paragraph to Rin countless times, but always decided against it. He had written it at school the day before he had found her on the street…but he hadn't seen her for a long time before that so he had thought it would be awkward.

He had thought of showing it to her while she was in the hospital. But she always seemed to be in so much pain when he came to visit her. Well, of course. Who wouldn't be upset if their mother had told them they were unwanted?

He decided he would give it to her once he heard she was moving to Kagura's house, as a sort of 'welcome' present.

It was a Sunday morning. He walked to Kagura's house, but Kagura's mother told him Rin had not arrived yet. Haru decided she must still be packing at her former house, and returned through the rain to the house of Rin's parents. Once he arrived, nobody answered the door. He let himself in.

"Hello?" he called through the house, clutching the folded up paragraph in the pocket of his windbreaker. "Hello?"

He trudged up the stairs, shaking off the rain. Silence. He found himself in front of Rin's room and took his hands out of his pockets only to knock on the door.

Silence.

"Rin?" he opened the door slowly, finding Rin stuffing various items into her suitcase. She did not acknowledge him. "…Are you packing for Kagura's?" he asked quietly as he shut the door again.

A sigh escaped the girl's lips before she froze and turned to stare at him. "No," she responded, receiving a raised eyebrow from her friend. "No…I'm running away. But you can't tell anyone," she admitted before she began packing again.

"…Why are you running away?" he asked her, feeling his lip tremble.

"Because," she snapped. "Nobody wants me here. They just threw me in Kagura's house because nobody else would ever take me. My parents don't want me. Nobody does so I'm gonna run away so nobody will ever see me again."

Tears rolled down her face. She was trying to push her anger into the suitcase with her belongings.

"…_nobody will ever see me again."_

Haru sniffled as he took his precious paragraph out of his pocket. He wiped his eyes with the back of his jacket sleeve as he handed it to her and ran out of the house.


	5. The Sleepover

_.::Time Turned Fragile::._

**5. The Sleepover**

Every once in a while... well, most every weekend... Haru's mother would stay out all night and he'd end up needing a babysitter. Rin was always eager to volunteer Kagura's mother as chaperone for a night, and thus, Rin and Haru would get to stay up late, eat junk food they would never be able to on any other day, and watch movies in which they weren't old enough to understand half of the jokes or dialogue. But whatever they did, sleepovers with Rin were always the highlights of Haru's weeks.

One sleepover, as morning came, Haru awoke on the floor though he did not open his eyes. He was still sleepy, so the memories of the night before were a bit fuzzy and he even forgot where he was. He felt his arms around a pillow… blanket… teddy bear… _something…_ and tightened the hug. He was comfortable. He smiled as he remembered watching TV with Rin far passed their bedtimes… Eating Rin's secret stash of candy and hiding it whenever Kagura's mother came into Rin's room to tell them to be quiet and go to sleep. He remembered playing card games and laughing and becoming so tired he fell asleep on the floor, and…

"Haru," he heard a whisper and felt an even quieter breath on his face. His eyes opened slowly and he saw her in front of him, only then noticing that his nose was touching the girl's and they had wrapped their arms around each other sometime during the night.

"Ah!" he gasped as the children sat up and backed away from each other.

"Haru…? We… just…" Rin stuttered. It was obvious she was freaking out, and she didn't have to finish her sentence.

_We just slept together._

"Isn't that… what… _married_ people do?" he asked nervously. Neither of them knew whether to make a big deal out of it or not.

"I… I guess so," Rin wiped a single tear from the corner of her eye as nothing was said for a long time.

Just eye contact.

Just racing hearts.

"Haru… you can't tell anyone. Ever," she spoke quickly, but he hadn't been planning to. What if they got in trouble? They weren't married, after all…

Still, he couldn't stop thinking about how pretty Rin's eyes were in front of his… and how her breath felt against his face…


End file.
